Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

108 reviews

3lillies's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

ktv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

this book made me flare up in a rage 70 pages in and then i was crying another several chapters down the road. it kept pulling me along on this wonderful (not rly) emotional roller coaster ride. i have never cried this extensively while reading a book. thank u to khaled hosseini for creating this masterpiece and teaching me what its like to feel again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Pedophilia, Child death, Death of parent, War, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury

aliwhaley's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is unrelentingly sad. It doesn’t romanticise pain and hardship, which I appreciate, it looks it in the face and points out how hard it is. But, it made for harrowing and difficult reading. It didn’t necessarily need to make a bigger point aside from ‘the Afghan war is terrible’, but its worth saying that it didn’t make a bigger point. I feel like the only thing I learnt from this is that we in the West need to be more compassionate towards the people in Kabul. It felt very specific, it didn’t make me think about anything outside of the situation it describes, and I think that is something of a fault.

More harrowing still is that, this was written in 2007, and the author obviously didn’t know that American troops would pull out of Afghanistan in 2021. That made the ending harder to swallow.

The first 150 pages feel like a preamble until the women move in together, and then the plot starts. After that, the pace picks up and we have something to root for. I felt the first 100 pages dragged a bit.

It does a good job of conjuring a world and drawing you into it. I cared about the characters, I cared what happened, and the villain is believable and terrifying.

But, I give this book three stars because of the slow start and the violent middle. It’s worth having read to learn more about Afghanistan, but it is not an enjoyable experience.

I think my qualm with this book is that it’s important, but it’s not interesting. There’s just something missing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Violence, War, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Abortion and Body horror

Minor: Child death

absurdlyalex's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Sexism, Infertility, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Grief, Sexual violence, and War

katrinarose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have struggled to rate this book. I didn’t enjoy it, but I did fly through it. The writing style is beautiful and emotional but not overly flowery. My biggest complaint is that the characters were a bit black and white - either painted as a monster or perfect. I appreciate depth and complexity even in the most vile characters. In lacking this, most actions the characters took were a bit predictable.

I did cry while reading this book, but I was almost angry at the fact. Hosseini is praised for how raw he displays the suffering of generations of people in Afghanistan, especially women, but combined with the lack of real character depth, it feels like trauma porn for a western audience. I go back and forth on this opinion because their suffering deserves to be told in all the horror it was, but I can’t decide (and in the end it’s not up for me to decide) whether it’s honoring them or exploiting them.

So I didn’t enjoy it due to the immense pain I felt for the Mariam and Laila (and all the other women who suffered), however I couldn’t put it down either. A 3.5 it is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Misogyny, War, Grief, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Gaslighting

keiwald's review against another edition

inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, War, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Infertility

Moderate: Abortion and Cursing

Very intense book about a lot of violence and war in Afghanistan. Can get detailed about

bombings, violence, and rape

audc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Would give it 5 stars but I don’t think I ever plan on reading it any time soon. BUT, I would DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, recommend it and have and my friend loved it. 

Of the top of my head:
So many emotions! I can’t believe Mariam’s character development!!! Following these TWO STRONG WOMEN from childhood! 

It’s triggering, but it’s probably nothing close to the reality. This book needed to be written. The writing is just so flavorful and precise; I couldn’t stop underlining!!! 

It drags at some points, but it’ everytime it’s so worth it! 

I really appreciate that this book is not westernized and that throughout there’s that single thread of Afghanistan. 
I appreciate that though the story is set during the larger picture of the Taliban and political insecurity, famine, social upheaval the book focuses on these women and the smallest details of their lives. Rippling effect that further encompasses the history at large. Making it a lot more impactful. 

!!Very Triggering!! 

At least a happy ending will continue to live in this book despite what actually happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Abortion, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Antisemitism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, War, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, and Xenophobia

Minor: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Murder, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Pedophilia, Abortion, Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

monicalaurette's review against another edition

I DNFed this book at 49% and let me tell you why: I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Kite Runner to start, so I went into this book wondering if I’d like it more. I did but only by a little bit. 

For me it’s more on Khaled’s writing style and prose than the actual story he told. So because of that, and the fact I could tell how the story would end based on the summary and sections of the book I did read, I decided to not continue reading it.

One thing I felt was interesting was that both girls had sort of the same relationships with their parents for the majority of the time. Both loved their fathers and while they loved their mothers, had a more stand-offish relationship with them. And sadly when both parents left their lives, it was through trauma and heartbreak.

With Khaled’s stories that I’ve read, I just find it also uncomfortable to have miscarriage and a woman’s infertility something that is part of the story. Like the only thing left to make them a true woman is ripped away but then “hey! Here’s a child that you didn’t birth but you’ll now love and you’re whole again” rubbed me the wrong way. Especially as someone who has fertility issues (though I never plan to have children, but still). And while I’m not an amputee or know anyone who is (that I can recall right now while writing this) having Laila compare the loss of Tariq to phantom limb pain was off-putting, but I also see why that specific comparison was made towards Tariq since he was, in fact, missing a leg and had a prosthetic.

Perhaps if I watched this as a movie or show instead of reading it I’d finish it. But I know the ending (broadly) and don’t really care about the characters, I don’t know if I’ll ever search that out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Suicide, War, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Death, Grief, Incest, Abandonment, and Death of parent

tezariah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Every book starts at 3 stars for me. Now, every few moments, this book kept dwindling from 3 stars to 4 stars to 2 stars, and then right back to 3 stars. The reason for that is primarily because even though I felt an attachment to the characters, I still felt disconnected from the story itself. Who knows...it may be my fault when it comes to my reading mood but this book didn't make me as passionate about the storyline as I had for Kite Runner. 

I had no idea what to expect from the story, but for me, that is a regular thing as I am one who doesn't like knowing what a story is about before reading. I'm not sure what I was looking for while reading this, but I did enjoy the characters a lot. I cared about them deeply. And I would have never picked up this book on my own if it wasn't for me having joined my neighborhood book club. 

I am happy that I read this book. Hosseini seems to be a writer of deep character studies and that to me is what makes his books so heart-wrenching. I don't think I will be reading his other book, but I can't ever fully make that claim because somehow I always find myself doing what I never think I would do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, War, Child death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

lorna1128's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A very well told story! 

Historical fiction will always have a special interest place in my heart. And so I wanted to open my mind other types, not just ones that focused on World War II and this story did just that. 

It wasn’t just a story for me but a lesson. I’ve never really known the history of war in Afghanistan and so reading this gave me the knowledge of what this country and its people have gone through. 

And that’s what’s so beautiful about historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, and Death